Western Wing

The Western Wing has recently undergone a major renovation, resulting in five shiny and extravagant new rooms. The interiors are inspired by the people who used to lived here during the time they worked for the Wenner-Gren couple.

It'll be tough to leave behind the luxurious wall paper, warm textiles, photo art and bath tubs in the middle of the rooms. But that's ok, you get to come back anytime.

Birger Strid

Birger Strid may not have been the most trustworthy person to take on the job of Axel Wenner-Gren's estate trustee, but his persona was quite an inspiration for this deluxe room. The greige interiors reflect his ambiguity and the structured wallpaper his rugged methods.

Wherever he went, Axel Wenner-Gren attracted swindlers and charlatans: in Mexico, he was close friends with the president’s brother, who was notorious for accepting bribes; during his blacklisting, Axel allied himself with riffraff that only made things worse; and for trustee of his estate (a position needing utmost integrity), Axel had Birger Strid.

Rumour has it that Axel became more and more confused with age, which gave Mr Strid and the board opportunity to move enormous sums of money as they pleased. Fulcrum, the formerly bright and powerful empire, was shaken to the core. As gossip spread without anyone to defend the truth, everything worth selling at Häringe was given a price tag. Even the golden faucets in Marguerite’s bathroom were put up for sale.

During the summer of 1975, Birger Strid was sentenced with two years in prison and 21 million Swedish kronor in damages. He declared his innocence and claimed to have done everything in his power to save the estate. In court, it was proved that Birger did act wrongfully, however, it should be mentioned that several people later said Birger had been caught in an impossible economic situation.

After he finished his prison sentence, Birger Strid once again showed up at Häringe Palace. He came to return a bronze bust of Mr.Wenner-Gren belonging to his former employer.

Attributes

Room type

Deluxe

Room size

19 sqm

Hästens® bed

180 cm

Extra bed

Yes

Shower

Yes

Bathtub

Yes

Desk

Yes

Pets

Yes

Bathrobe

Yes

Toiletries

Malin + Goetz

TV

32"

WiFi

Of course

View

Apple orchard

iPod dock

Yes

Photo Art

Franck Bohbot

Théâtre du Châtelet

0

Bibliotek Sainte Geneviève

Brita von Heidenstam

Climb up the hot pink stairs and you'll tumble right into Brita von Heidenstam's snazzy room.

Some people’s lives are so full that they almost seem made up. How can they have experienced so much more drama compared to the rest of us? Brita von Heidenstam - Frisk was one of those individuals. She was born on July 1st 1912, at the same time the Olympic Games opening ceremony took place in Stockholm, and over the years she would be wedded four times. Brita was raised the way any proper woman close to the court should be, and she attended school with the royal family’s children up by the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Her upbringing was filled with boat races, airplane trips, and all the other ingredients of a jet set lifestyle. In 1936, she met the very influential Finn, Hjalmar J.Procopé. Their love was instant and mind-boggling, but because they were each already in unhappy marriages that took some time to end, their own wedding did not take place until 1949.

It was through Hjalmar that Brita became acquainted with Axel and Marguerite Wenner-Gren, and the four of them spent lots of time socializing and travelling together. In her memoirs, Brita describes the Wenner-Grens’ sumptuous lifestyle – their many homes, imaginative table settings, luxurious cocktails, and the mandatory evening dip in the pool before bed.

When Hjalmar passed away, Axel asked Brita to become his private secretary. She worked for him for seven years and in many ways she became his closest and most trusted employee. They often travelled together and wherever they went, it was Brita’s duty to arrange –often very discreetly – all the things that the great entrepreneur needed to see to. It was not exactly a regular nine-to-five job, and throughout her entire employment, Brita had a total of just four days vacation. In order to always be on hand, Brita moved into Häringe’s Western Wing and lived there until 1972. Later, she lived in Geneva, Switzerland, and enjoyed life as a very active, social and bright older lady. Brita was never short of money and she used to joke and say that her wealth increased with every divorce.

Attributes

Room type

Deluxe

Room size

28 sqm

Hästens® bed

180 cm

Extra bed

Yes

Shower

Yes

Bathtub

Yes

Desk

Yes

Pets

Yes

Bathrobe

Yes

Toiletries

Malin + Goetz

WiFi

Of course

TV

32"

Ipod dock

Yes

View

Apple orchard

Photo Art

Christian Coigny

Julie #1

Family Beronius

Family Beronius took great pride in tending to the palace grounds, and they'd surely appreciate their dedicated suite's balcony overlooking the vast apple orchard.

In 1937, the agronomist Curt Beronius was handpicked from the School of Agriculture in Berga, where he was working as a teacher, to take employment as administrator at Häringe. Curt stayed in the position, working as the Wenner-Grens’ closest man at the palace until he retired in 1965. At that time, the Häringe farmhouse was functioning as a research project and the farm collaborated with agricultural and veterinarian schools in Sweden. To manage the manor – complete with breeding stock, milking cows, crops, garden shop, and a vast forest – was an extensive task undertaken by a labour force consisting of farm foremen, bookkeepers, farm managers, stable and barn foremen, fishermen, gardeners, peasants, and agricultural students.

Curt received plenty of support from Britta – his robust and frank wife – who, after Marguerite, was the second lady of Häringe. The couple lived in this wing with their three children. Britta, who had attended art school and was an educated cartographer, was one of few on the farm who dared stand up to Mr Wenner-Gren and his sometimes-unworkable demands. Britta, who preferred to dress in jeans and wore little make up, was so elegant in her simplicity that the luxurious Marguerite – her total opposite – once uttered: “Britta, I know you’re a lady.”

Life at Häringe was divided into two phases: when the palace’s head couple was present, between midsummer and October 15th, the staff would be careful not to disturb them; but when the palace was unoccupied, everything was mothballed and Häringe became just a regular large farm in the countryside. During these periods, the farm children had plenty of freedom, just as long as they stayed away from the three mean dogs guarding the palace until the Wenner-Grens returned.

On the early summer day that marked the Wenner-Grens’ arrival, they were welcomed by the managerial couple carrying freshly picked flowers. A potent scent of powder and perfume always appeared as the doors to the Rolls Royce swung open. Marguerite – who was not otherwise known for her kind nature – brought with her small gifts from Mexico, sometimes from the Wenner-Grens’ very own silver mine. Some of the jewellery is still in the possession of the Beronius family today

Attributes

Room type

Suite

Room size

27 sqm

Hästens® bed

180 cm

Extra bed

Yes

Shower

Yes

Bathtub

Yes

Desk

Yes

Pets

Yes

Bathrobe

Yes

Toiletries

Malin + Goetz

WiFi

Of course

TV

32"

Ipod dock

Yes

View

Apple orchard

Balcony

Yes

Photo Art

Cally Whitman

Pilgrim Goose

Cally Whitman

New Hampshire

Cally Whitman

Dorking Rooster

John Karlsson

The Wenner-Gren's maitre d´, John Karlsson, was all about having fun. His single room is a fun little space in plaid, with a freestanding tub right next to the bed!

To this day, people marvel at how the Wenner-Grens managed to keep their staff so incredibly disciplined that their routines continued flawlessly even when the couple left the palace. However, there actually seems to have been plenty going on behind the scenes.John Karlsson was the maître d’ at Häringe for 40 years, and he lived here until 1974. John began each morning by going over the evening’s guest list with Marguerite, who at the same time enjoyed her breakfast in bed. John spoke of his close relationship with Marguerite on numerous occasions, but she denied anything intimate and declared that they had never been friends. The truth about their relationship is hard to guess – Marguerite was complicated and John, a loyal but a slightly cunning individual. A local grocery shop owner has revealed that he delivered huge amounts of groceries even when Axel and Marguerite were abroad, and it was John who was having the parties. (Apparently, when the cat’s away, the mice of the palace will play indeed.)

John Karlsson lived in the section of Häringe that is known as the Eastern Wing. One morning, while sitting by his kitchen window, John saw six unannounced moving trucks pull up by the palace and movers start emptying the palace. Axel Wenner-Gren had recently passed away and it was the trustee, Birger Strid, selling off the estate. When the new owners, the Hartwigs, took over, the Wenner-Gren staff was ordered to move out. John, who was an elderly man at this point, was given a one-month grace period. During that time he divulged entertaining stories and spicy revelations to the handymen, like how once in a while, he had to order call girls from Stockholm to come and entertain the palace’s male guests. Additionally, John exposed all of Häringe’s secret compartments and he even opened up the safe for the bewildered carpenters. The safe has since been closed and no one alive today knows the combination.

John also told about how he cared for Finnish children who had fled during WWII, keeping them safe at the palace while the Wenner-Grens were in Mexico. To make ends meet during these hard times, John said he and other Häringe staff grew potatoes around the palace pool.

Attributes

Room type

Single

Room size

10 sqm

Hästens® bed

105 cm

Shower

Yes

Bathtub

Yes

Desk

Yes

Pets

Yes

Bathrobe

Yes

Toiletries

Malin + Goetz

WiFi

Of course

TV

32"

View

Palace entré

Ipod dock

Yes

Photo Art

Xavier Martin

Serge

Michael Nobel

Jetsetter Michael Nobel is honored with a cool retreat on the top floor. The deluxe room is all turquoise and orange - very 50's.

Brita von Heidenstam Frisk never did things by halves. She grew up in a most wealthy community, consorted with the jet set, travelled the world and managed to get married four times. At the time she first met her true love Hjalmar J. Procopé, who later introduced her to Axel & Marguerite Wenner-Gren, Brita was engaged to Sven G. Oleinikoff. Sven, a member of the honorable Nobel clan, caught Brita’s eye as the sole banjo player in the orchestra at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. Their marriage was more of a social affair, based on common interest rather than love. The birth of their two children, Michael and Tiny, failed to add any sparks to their relationship, nor did their family sailing trips to Nice, hunting trips in the Swedish countryside and winter holidays in the Alps.

After the war in 1948 Brita and Sven finally signed their divorce papers and Brita married Procopé the next year. Michael and Tiny lived with their father and his new family on Djurgården in Stockholm and spent time with Brita whenever she was in the country. For her life with the Finnish diplomat Procopé was anything but calm. Michael, who was a very curious and well behaved little boy, was occasionally allowed to accompany his mother on business trips to New York, Copenhagen, Spain – wherever Hjalmar had to be. When Brita started working as Axel Wenner-Gren’s secretary after her husband’s death in 1954, she settled down at Häringe. And she made sure that the wing she resided in had a bedroom for each of her children, who came to enjoy the exhilarating life at the palace as much as she did.

The children who grew up at Häringe spent very little time in the palace. It was always tempting to see the chef prepare handmade ice cream in the courtyard before the dinners, but most of the parties were for adults only. Once in a while the children were invited, but they were only allowed to attend for dessert. To entertain the youngest guests on these occasions, Marguerite would have some of her domesticated deer prance around inside the palace.

Although Häringe was a large estate far out in the countryside, it was a very international environment where movie stars and industrial magnates frequently came and went. The children at Häringe learned German from the farming students, Finnish from the Finnish children who had escaped WWII, and they tried to the best of their ability to understand when the lady of the palace was gabbling in American.